Team, fans put on full-court press for community

The View From Here

When the Tel Aviv Maccabi come to town to play the Orlando Magic, it's more than a game of hoops.

October 24, 2005|By Aline Mendelsohn, Sentinel Staff Writer

The home team just isn't feeling the love tonight. Granted, it is a preseason game, and a smattering of spectators are cheering, halfheartedly, for the Orlando Magic.

But the Magic enthusiasts are no match for the fans of the opposing team, the Tel Aviv Maccabi (pronounced MAK-uh-bee).

"TEL AVIV! TEL AVIV!" fans chant.

Or, "MAC-CA-BIM! MAC-CA-BIM," the Hebrew plural of Maccabi.

From time to time, NBA teams play preseason games against Euroleague teams. This night marks the first time the Magic are playing an international team, and Israelis and Jewish Americans from throughout Florida have flocked to the TD Waterhouse for the event.

On the surface, it is a festive basketball game. But for many of the spectators it is more than that.

For the Israelis, the game provides a touch of home.

For the Jewish-Americans, the game provides a sense of connection.

"One basketball game is bringing all of the Jews in Florida together," says Darren Sevel, 20, a junior at the University of Central Florida

Officials from the Israeli consulate in Miami are here. Exuberant members of Jewish organizations from five Florida colleges fill an entire section. Boy Scouts in uniform watch the game wearing yarmulkes, the traditional skull caps.

In every direction, fans dot the arena in their yellow Maccabi shirts. Some wave full-size Israeli flags bearing the Star of David.

"You got to represent," says Daniel Bloom, 19, a University of Florida sophomore who is wearing a blinking Israeli flag pin.

Meanwhile, 13-year-old Austyn O'Dwyer, holds up a small homemade "USA" sign, inconspicuous amid the Maccabi banners and flags. It's a home game, Austyn points out, but there appear to be more Maccabi fans here than Magic fans.

Some spectators compare the spectacle to Knicks-Magic games, when New York transplants arrive in droves, decked out in orange and blue.

As for tonight, "The buzz is amazing," says Jonathan Franks, 22, a University of South Florida student. "I feel like I'm in Israel."

He knows this could be a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to see the Maccabi play in the States.

For many Americans, exposure to Israel is limited to conflicts reported on CNN. This event gives spectators a chance to see Israel in a different light, says Eric Horn, 17, a University of Tampa student.

"It's important for us to come out and show our support, wherever we are," Horn says.

Some fans have gone to considerable lengths to show their support.

Tomer Mann, 23, a mortgage broker in Tampa, was closing three loans but still left the office at 3:30 p.m. to make it to the 7:30 game.

Ronen Tamary, 26, a bartender in Miami who held Maccabi season tickets when he lived in Tel Aviv, raced to Orlando just for the game and plans to drive back as soon as it's over. Liran Kerman, Idan Munchik and Liran Hutmacher, all 22, recently finished their Israeli army service and are traveling in the United States. Two days before the game, they were in Oklahoma City. But when they heard the Maccabi were playing in Orlando, they decided to drive to the game.

"My blood is not red. It's yellow," Hutmacher says.

The Memphis-to-Orlando stretch alone took 19 hours.

"It was crazy," Kerman says.

But the trio made it, and here they are, in the stands, dressed in yellow shirts bought for $1.99 in a souvenir store. They brought with them a supply of yellow poster board and black felt-tipped pens.

There is still cause for celebration: This night is the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, an autumn harvest festival. Outside the stadium, the Chabad of South Orlando, an Orthodox Jewish congregation, has set up a booth known as the sukkah.

At the booth Maccabi fans find cookies and drinks and, in keeping with the spirit of the evening, a sense of community.